


And They Were Roommates

by BalderRask



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: A musical flash mob, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Barnyard shenanigans, Blood and Gore, Cannibalistic Thoughts, Cosplay, Dank Memes, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Jaden is a big fucking nerd, Jaden is bi as fuck, John is confused, Memes, Mental Illness, Murder, Mycroft Being A Stalker, Mycroft has fun, Mycroft is a cactus, Mycroft learns about feelings, Mycroft secretly likes to ride motorcycles, NO RUNNING IN THE LOBBY, OC, Past Suicide Attempt, Sexual Tension, Sherlock becomes a meme lord, Sherlock is the brother from another mother, Sherlock plays Rock Band, Some drifting and gymkhana happens, Urban Exploration, a lot of memes, depressing memes, i mean he does now, i swear that’s not the sex part, some song lyrics, various anime and manga references, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-03 21:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14004894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BalderRask/pseuds/BalderRask
Summary: Oh my god they were roommates! John Watson has moved from Baker Street to be with his family. A new friend of Sherlock’s moves in; a college student with a mind not unlike his own, but bad genes make it hard to put her thoughts and ideas into words, among other things. Mycroft can’t help but watch and observe the strange phenomenon known as Jaden Whelan; Jaden always had a thing for men that held back their feelings but had brilliant minds. Will Jaden, the pop-culture, meme-loving fuck melt the heart of the Iceman?





	1. Hello I’m a Piece of Garbage

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is the first fic I’ve ever actually published; I shared them with friends before, but thank Sigynstark for convincing me to publish this one!
> 
> This is mainly an introduction to our leading lady, Jaden Whelan, told from her perspective. Very occasionally it will switch to first, but 95% of this fic will be in 3rd person.

April 12th, 1992

That was the day I was born.

  
I was adopted too.

  
I lived in a small city; historically a farming community, it greatly expanded to be the seat of the county. I lived with my parents and an older brother, split between living in the city proper and out on the outskirts where my grandparents lived. Every weekend we’d go and do work on the farm; 10th largest dairy and meat farm in the whole state of California.

You could say I grew up on the back of a horse. I was twelve when I got my own horse; the daughter of one of my aunt’s horses. Every weekend I’d go out and run with her; I named her Jewel; it’s kinda traditional in thoroughbred to name the child with part of the same sex parent’s name, which could lead to strange names. We were practically attached at the hip.

Unlike my brother, who chose to stick with working the farm, I chose geology; I sold my soul to the rocks and sand a long time ago. More specifically, earthquakes and volcanoes; California thankfully had both!

But now, I was all set for a new adventure; I got my bachelors degree and it was time to work on my Master’s degree. I’d been in a few exchange and abroad learning program. I did them in Japan and did a semester in Hawaii. I picked up Japanese fairly quickly, and picked up a lot of Hawaiian and Pidgin. I know Mexican Spanish and picked up some of the Native American languages from my time in New Mexico and Arizona doing different programs and summer camps.

I’d been to England once for two weeks for summer vacation with my family; I liked it there. That’s where I’m headed now, actually. I got accepted into an abroad learning program for geology.

You’d think I didn’t know anyone in London, right? Surprisingly, you’re wrong. I knew one person; Sherlock Holmes. How? Besides his and John Watson’s blogs, he got in contact with me when he figured out I could hack.

That was one of my side hobbies; hacking. I mostly did white hat work, but occasionally I’d dip into the grey.  
Sherlock and I talked on and off for about a year; I had made sure he didn’t know my whole life story.  
Why?  
People treat you different when they know you have money.  
I’m not special; well, in a way I was, but I didn’t care too much.

Sherlock once told me his older brother would say he was surrounded by goldfish. I chuckled and wrote him back;  
“Then call me a Death Valley Pupfish.”

Who is this “Death Valley Pupfish”?  
The name is Jaden. Jaden Whelan.


	2. Is That A Weed?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden meets Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson in person finally.

_“Soy un perdedor_  
_I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?“_  
Jaden softly sang as she had her headphones in, watching the buildings go by as the taxi she was in drove her to 221 Baker Street. It took about 40 minutes to get there from the airport. Jaden only had one headphone in, so she chatted with the driver a little.

When they arrived, the driver helped her with her two large duffel bags and large backpack, getting them out of the car and into her hands. She paid and tipped him quite heavy, which the driver was going to protest but she insisted. “Just pay it forward, man.” Jaden chuckled.  
She set one bag down to knock on the door, which was opened a minute later by Mrs. Hudson. They had talked over Skype a few times on Sherlock’s laptop. 

“Jaden, it’s good to finally meet you in person!” She said, pulling her into a hug. Oddly enough, they had a bit in common; Jaden went to high school with one of her ex’s friend’s grandkids ; not to mention California had its fair share of the drug trade.  
“Good to meet you too, Mrs. Hudson!” She replied, setting the bags in her hands down to hug back.  
“Sherlock just got back in—he’s running another one of his experiments, so be careful, Jaden. And come back down for tea once you’re settled!”

Jaden chuckled, “Alright, will do, and thanks for the heads-up!”  
She grabbed her bags and headed upstairs. The second she got up the stairs, she was face to face with a pajama-clad Sherlock.  
“Do you have it?”

“Yeah, I got it! I gotta dig it out first!” She replied with a chuckle. “Settle down, my ass just got here!” Jaden joked. Sherlock grabbed the bag from her left hand and took it up to her room without another word.

“Wrong bag, eager beaver!” She laughed a little as she followed after him, walking as fast as she could. Sherlock took the bag from her other hand and looked at her for confirmation that this was the bag that contained what he wanted.

“Red pouch on my back, in the Old Spice.” She relented with another chuckle.

He grumbled and dropped the bag in his hand before going behind her and unclipping the pouch from her MOLLE bag and rushing back downstairs with it.

“Remind me again why I had to bring you the good kush?” Jaden asked loudly as she set her backpack down on the floor and quickly followed after him. 

“Studying the ash for a case!” He replied as he pulled the small bag from the travel bottle of Old Spice over the kitchen sink.

“Just thank god I had someone in the business that owed me a favor.” She chuckled, watching Sherlock carefully move the marijuana to a dish. Since Sherlock didn’t respond, Jaden went back up to her room to put her things away. In about an hour, she had the room looking like a fairly typical college student’s room. She had her guitar out of its box she had stuffed in one of her bags set next to her bed.

Jaden headed back down to Mrs. Hudson’s flat to have tea and chat with her, and let Sherlock have his alone time for his experiment. They talked for a few hours until nine at night. At that point, they bade each other goodnight and Jaden went back upstairs to find Sherlock in his chair thinking. Not wanting to bother him, she headed for her room quietly.

“Expect to be abducted by my brother in the next few days, he’ll most likely bug your room while he’s at it.” Sherlock said as she started to head upstairs. That made Jaden chuckle.

“If he wants to see tiddies that bad, he can just ask.” She joked; Sherlock rolled his eyes but Jaden saw a hint of a smile on his lips. “But seriously, why’s he gotta do the big power play? I have a tendency not to betray people I mule for, especially since you’re the _only_ person I’d do it for.” Jaden asked, leaning against the bannister.

“Because he’s Mycroft, _the smart one_ , the British government.” Sherlock replied mockingly. Jaden chuckled again and moved closer, leaning on the door jam with her arms crossed casually.

“Well, he’s gonna hear a lot of music he probably dislikes, see me yell at video games, laugh at memes, and do my homework.”

Jaden then giggled, “There’s a running joke back home that everyone has an FBI agent watching them; Mycroft will be my FBI agent...MI6 agent...and he probably won’t send me memes to cheer me up or buy me something I forgot to buy.”

Sherlock chuckled at that. “That last one you sent me was fairly funny, I’ll admit.”

“Which one was that? The British cops’ algorithm malfunction?”

“Send dunes.” Sherlock smiled.

“You might like Reddit’s software gore thread; I’ll send you the link later. It’s entirely computer malfunctions.” Jaden said before checking her watch. “I should probably try and get some sleep if I’m ever gonna adjust to the time difference.”

Sherlock looked up at her. “Your semester starts in two weeks? You should be adjusted by then.”

“If I’m not staying up ‘till 3 am binge-playing GTA Online.” She added with a chuckle. He nodded with a smile.

“Get some sleep, you’ll need to be well-rested if you’re going to meet my brother.”

“Night, Sherlock.” Jaden chuckled once again before heading upstairs to her room.


	3. It Is Wednesday My Dudes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaden meets John, Anthea, and Mycroft for the first time. Jaden and Mycroft...go on a date???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 points to whomever can find the House MD quote from 3x04 Lines In The Sand, spoken by House!

9:00am  
Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” started blaring from the phone next to the Star Wars pillow under Jaden’s face. With a groan, she reached out from her blanket nest and tapped the off option.  
She was disoriented at first, still unused to the new surroundings; well, two days wasn’t very long, but far from home, it felt like longer.  
She had hung a black Ghostbusters flag over the window to further minimize the natural light that entered her room. It wasn’t as if she was averse to it, She just liked a dark bedroom.

With a yawn and a grumble, she stretched out her arms and legs to ease the night stiffness. Jaden sat up and checked her messages before turning music on to help her start the day. The first song in the playlist was “Little Deuce Coupe” by The Beach Boys, the beginning notes starting as she put her sock covered feet to the floor; as usual, they weren’t a matching pair. She sang along with the music to help her brain get in gear for the day, grabbing her clothes for the day; ripped jeans, a Fallout Nuka Cola shirt, red and black DC shoes, and a shark tooth necklace.

After a shower, she got dressed and went back to her room to grab her leather jacket, watch, fingerless gloves, and purple beanie before heading out to the street to grab a taxi; she had to pick up her PS4, Xbox One, and gaming laptop she had mailed over from the post office, not wanting to risk them getting stolen or broken in her bags.

Within an hour, she was back at the flat, setting up her electronics and connecting them to her TV; nothing difficult. She decided she’d play a bit of Grand Theft Auto 5...a bit turned out to be five hours. She didn’t spend too much time in story mode, sticking to online play and climbing through the local online ranks for racing, team deathmatch, and other mini games.

Just as she turned off the console to go do some shopping, John Watson knocked on her door to introduce himself; Jaden could tell he was a bit startled to discover Sherlock let her live with him. They were acquainted over the internet through Sherlock just like Jaden was with Mrs. Hudson.

“I assure you, there’s nothing more than friendship here; yeah, I won’t lie, he’s attractive and smart, but I don’t see anything but friendship working out between us. From what I’ve gathered from knowing him, he sometimes gets the romantic feelings but he doesn’t get the sex feelings. He’s like my best friend back home; she’ll wine, dine, cuddle, and kiss you, but that’s it.” Jaden said.

Before John could reply, she interrupted him. “And it’s okay, John. There are just some people in the world that don’t care about sex, and there are even some people that don’t even like talking about it or people’s privates. I’m kinda surprised Sherlock hasn’t given you the talk.”

“The talk?” He asked, utterly confused.

“The talk about how normal is a societal construct to categorize people. See, skinny, socially-privileged white people get to draw this neat little circle. And everyone inside the circle is “normal”. Anyone outside the circle should be beaten, broken and reset so that they can be brought into the circle. Failing that, they should be institutionalized. Or worse— pitied.”

After a minute’s silence, John spoke again. “And Sherlock said this to you?” He asked.

“No, I said it to him and he liked it and agreed with me.” Jaden replied.

“...now I see why you two get along.”

“No one expects the short kid to be an asshole; I’ll let you in on a secret; I’m not short; I just didn’t finish crawling out of Hell.” She couldn’t help but tease.

John couldn’t stop a chuckle at that. “You’re not from hell; you’re a young woman from California coming to get an education.”

Jaden couldn’t help but smile and chuckle. “Just keep telling yourself that.” She continued to tease.

“Have you met Mycroft yet?” John asked

“No, but I imagine it’s gonna be soon, didn’t you meet him on day two?”

“Yeah, that’s why I asked.”

“Maybe he’s been busy being Mister minor-position-in-the-government.” Jaden chuckled once again, John chuckling with her.

“His assistant, Anthea, isn’t one for small talk...at all. Don’t bother trying.”

“Alright, noted.” Jaden chuckled once more. “Well, I’m headed to the store for food; Sherlock’s running low and I wanna do stir fry tomorrow night and need munchies to fill my R2-D2 mini-fridge and beer for my BB-8 one, you need anything?” Jaden asked before grabbing her galaxy backpack, stuffing it with two reusable bags.

“No, thank you, I went this morning—“

“JOOOOOOOOOHN!!!” They heard Sherlock yell from the floor below. “We’ve got a case!”

“You’ve got a case.” Jaden chuckled.

“Well, it’s good to finally meet you in person, Jaden.” John chuckled before holding out his hand for her to shake.

She shook it with a grin. “Same, good to meet you John!” 

He headed downstairs to see what the case was as Jaden grabbed her skateboard to get to the nearest store. She grabbed her headphones and stuck one in her ear, pulled out her phone and put her music on shuffle. She headed downstairs as she put her phone back in her pocket. “Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well” by Mike Doughty from the first Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack started playing.

Jaden put her board down as soon as she was out the door and rolled down the sidewalk towards the store.

A few block away she passed a phone booth that started ringing.

It was time.

 

She stopped and pulled up off her board before walking over to answer it. Without closing the door and using her board to hold it open, she picked up the receiver and set it to her ear. “So Big Brother really is watching me after all.” She couldn’t help but tease.

“I see my brother has told you about me.” Mycroft replied.

“Yeah, we’ve had a talk. I don’t need the theatrics; I know perfectly well I’m about to walk into the lion’s den.”

There was silence for a minute.

“Look, let’s do this face to face.” She said, getting rid of all the cockiness in her voice, but she gave a smile. “It’s easier for me to open up when I see the the other person. I’ll admit, I’ve been kinda excited to meet you...excited like the time I jumped out of a plane to parachute.”  
A black car pulled up as she said this.

“Get into the car, Miss Whelan.” Was all Mycroft said.

“Right.”  
Jaden hung up and headed towards the car, the front passenger getting out to open the door for her. She thanked him before getting inside. She greeted whom she supposed was Mycroft’s assistant.  
“Anthea, right?” 

Anthea was a bit startled before answering with a “Yes.”

Jaden just chuckled. “Sorry, John Watson warned me.”

“Ah.” She replied before going back to her phone.

Jaden put in her headphones and put on “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” by Fall Out Boy, and unknowingly started softly singing it. Anthea caught the whole thing on camera.

When they arrived at an empty restaurant, Jaden had her own power play in mind. She pulled her headphones down around her neck and blasted “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” by Alice Cooper.

She wanted to poke the bear.

Jaden stepped out and walked into the restaurant, making sure to pace herself so when she stood in front of Mycroft, the lyrics she wanted him to hear would play.

“...She turned her head and she softly said

I'll bite your face off  
I'll bite your face off  
I'll bite your face off – little man  
I'll bite your face off – you know that I can.”

Mycroft’s eyebrow went up in a questioning manner.

She turned off the music and stared down...up...Mycroft. He was an entire foot taller than she was.  
Her heart started racing; she was getting an adrenaline high from this.

“Mister ‘minor position in the government’ Holmes.” She teased him with a sly smile. She held out a hand for him to shake.

“Miss Whelan.”  
He knew it was a test.  
She knew he new.  
After a brief few second pause, he shook her hand.  
They both analyzed the other’s grip, and knew the other was doing the same.

Mycroft’s grip wasn’t as strong as hers.  
Jaden’s lip twitched as they stared each other in the eyes. The words that weren’t said out loud were as loud as day to both of them. Jaden’s lip twitch indicated to Mycroft she wanted him to drop the gentleman act for just a bit.  
‘I’m not afraid; I won’t break; play your hand.’ Jaden communicated through her body language.

Mycroft’s eyebrow twitched a little. He strengthened his grip on Jaden’s hand in response. ‘You’re playing with fire, little girl.’ He communicated back.

Jaden’s smirk grew into a grin. ‘Then burn me!’

What seemed like minutes to them was only seconds in real life. They pulled away from the handshake and Balder’s features softened. Now, it was time for real talk.

Jaden sat down first, Mycroft sitting across from her at the table.  
“Mrs. Hudson and John filled me in on everything I need to know about Sherlock, and I know you know who I am, so the question here is, why are we here?”

“What are your plans with my brother?” He asked.

“Be roommates and friends; he needs one to talk to and I need a place to stay near someone on the same wavelength as me. We like our quiet time, we bounce ideas off each other, and we help each other.”

Unexpectedly by Jaden, a waitress came out with menus for both of them. Jaden shot Mycroft a questioning look.

“Friends?” He asked before opening his menu to browse it.

“A tactic that’s kept us going as a species for almost ten thousand years? Ever hear the saying ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? If you think you’ve evolved past it, you’re wrong; it doesn’t just happen in a few generations, at least not in humans; it’ll take at least five more after you to start changing the genome. You’re an anomaly; a mutant, like me. What factors that made you the way you are are an unknown, but what made me somewhat keep up with you is the fact mommy smoke and drank while she was pregnant with me. Can’t completely fault her, she didn’t know.” Jaden said with a shrug at the end as she looked at her own menu.

Things were expensive, to say the least. Of course she could afford it without a doubt; but she believed certain things held false value, and expensive food is one of them.

She looked over her menu to see Mycroft staring right back at her.

Jaden chuckled. “Sorry, I can’t help but poke the bear; I’ll cool it. You know I’m a thrill seeker, and getting you riled up is a high I’ve never tried.”

“Miss Whelan, I recommend you keep it to this once.” He replied, continuing to look her in the eyes with a stern glare. He saw her shiver and her eyes spark in excitement.

“Now you’re just tempting me.” She chuckled again, setting the menu down on the table as the waitress came back with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. She filled Mycroft’s first and Jaden politely declined. Mycroft’s eyebrow raised at this.

“I’m a vodka and beer kind of woman, and I don’t drink around strangers.” Jaden answered his unspoken question before ordering. Mycroft handed his menu to the waitress as he ordered. The waitress left to get their order in.

“Just gotta do it one last time; I know you’re bugging my room; otherwise you would’ve done this meet and greet like you did with John. Dining takes about an hour, so being here means you need me distracted for a length of time.” Jaden stated with a smile.

Mycroft actually chuckled a little with a small smile. “I must say, this is quite refreshing. You’re right; you’re not on the same level as me, but you are enough that it’s quite entertaining.” He said before taking a drink of his wine.

Jaden smiled in return, definitely a lot more at ease after that. “Well, you and Sherlock are good company so far; you just gotta wait things out ‘till you find the right people, sometimes. I know your brother appreciates having me around.”

“I do have a few more questions.” Mycroft said as Jaden dug in her bag for her bottle of water, taking a drink out of it before setting it on the table.  
“Why choose all of this over taking over your parents’ farm?”

“I live for adventure and I want to learn Earth’s story; I mean, if I could I’d do astrophysics and astronomy and paleontology I’d do it all, but my brain can’t handle that many things so I picked my favorites; earthquakes and volcanoes.” She answered. “And my family has always been humble. That, and I just don’t care to live the life of luxury; I’m good with functional.”

Mycroft nodded in understanding. “And I’m assuming you won’t take money for information about my brother’s doings?”

“Well, Mrs. Hudson told me he’s had an on-and-off drug addiction. I came from meth city, so I know the signs. I don’t play around with drugs; I’m messed up enough as it is. I’ll let you know if he starts going erratic, but I’m sure as hell not gonna stalk him.” Jaden answered as she pulled out a business card from her jacket pocket. “I’m guessing you already have all of these, but it’s only polite to still offer my contact information.” She said as she handed him the card.

Mycroft reached out for it and took it, their fingers brushed against each other; They both felt a jolt flow through their spines. He put the card inside his inner jacket pocket. “What does brother dear think you do? Does he have any idea about the farm?”

“He thinks I’m just a geologist; thankfully geology is rough on hands enough to mask the farm work callouses. My gait he attributes to my motorcycle I ride...which should have arrived this morning.” Jaden grumbled the last bit.

“That’s because I have it out back in the alley with your helmets.” Mycroft replied.

She chuckled, “You shouldn’t mess with a woman’s things.” She teased. “But also thanks; I have a feeling Sherlock might try and steal it.”

“My thoughts exactly, which is why I had a lock and tracker put on it; the code is today’s date.” He responded. 

Jaden couldn’t help but giggle at that as she pulled out her wallet. “Thanks, what do I owe ya?”

Mycroft gave her a confused look. “Miss Whelan, you don’t owe me anything.”

She gave him a confused look of her own. “Well, I gotta pay you something, dinner’s on me then.”

“Dinner is already paid for.”

Jaden bristled a little at that. “Well...don’t do that!”

“A gentleman always pays for a lady’s meal.”

“Oh I’m far from a lady, Mycroft. I don’t work like that; I pay all or I at least pay my half. And call me Jaden...Miss Whelan sounds too fancy to me, I don’t like it.”

Mycroft was silent for a minute as he took in this new information. Jaden definitely was a strange woman...definitely not like one he’s ever met before.

She put her wallet away as he thought. “Look, I can’t explain my own methods, but there are things I just do, and paying for others is just one of them. Call it altruism or whatever you want, but I’ve done it my whole life and old habits are hard to break and all that.” Jaden explained.

Before he could respond, their food arrived. They ended up eating in comfortable silence. When Jaden finished, she downed the rest of her water.

Just as she was about to contribute their conversation, Jaden felt herself get goosebumps and the pit of her stomach fell; something wasn’t right.

“Something’s off...I haven’t felt the front guards’ eyes on us for a while now.”

Mycroft lifted his gaze over Jaden’s head to see if she was right; she was; the guards were nowhere to be seen.

She saw his realization in his eyes. Jaden grabbed her bag and shot up, grabbing Mycroft’s hand out of instinct and pulled him along; grabbing his coat and umbrella he followed along, but he wasn’t even sure why; he could take care of himself. But going out the back looked like the best course of action.

“We gotta get out of here!” She said, leading him out the back and keeping a firm grip on Mycroft’s hand.  
When they got to the back alley, Jaden let go of Mycroft and took his umbrella, slipping it under her jacket and had the handle up over the outside of her jacket. Mycroft pulled his coat on before he noticed what Jaden did with his umbrella. Before he could say anything, Jaden shoved a helmet into his hands. “No one will expect you on a bike; best getaway.” She said. Mycroft ordered the back guards to investigate what was going on in the front, and he saw that she did have a point; he’d never go on a motorbike anymore...until this moment. He slipped on the helmet and was about to take the front seat but Jaden beat him to it. “No time to argue, get on and hold tight!” Jaden said before slipping on her helmet.

He reluctantly got on behind her as she started up the bike; he wrapped his arms around her middle, looking over her right shoulder.

Jaden revved up before shooting down the alley at a fast speed. Once the Bluetooth helmets synced up with her phone, ‘Beat Your Heart Out’ by the Distillers started playing.

“Sorry, no time to stop and change it!” She said to Mycroft as she took a sharp right.

Jaden took quite a few turns and doubled back a few times to shake anyone that could be following after them. Once she was sure they were definitely alone, Jaden pulled onto a small side street, slowing to a stop. She turned off the bike and flipped up her mask so they could talk. Mycroft flipped up his mask as well.

“You ok?” She asked, getting off the bike so they could talk face to face.

“Yes, I’m alright. I must say that was bizarrely the best experience I’ve had on a motorbike; you’re a very talented rider.” Mycroft answered, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Jaden grinned. “You had fun, didn’t you? You felt that thrill of the unknown. I basically kidnapped you, but you put your trust in me and let me lead you somewhere you didn’t know.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, turning his face blank.

She chuckled. “Hey, I won’t tell anyone you enjoyed it; we’ll keep this between us, ok, Minor Position?” She said softly in a teasing manor, giving his helmet a playful knock, knowing now probably wasn’t a time for more physical contact.

She moved closer to the bike and Mycroft. “You wanna go hang out? And by hang out I mean sit and relax; don’t even gotta talk; just sit and exist away from everything; let your brain relax, maybe even grab a smoke? I can smell cigarette smoke on you.”

Mycroft was not a man that ‘hung out’ with people, but the way Jaden described her idea of ‘hanging out’ actually sounded fairly appealing. It sounded much like the Diogenes club, except Jaden was here.  
“Yes, I think I would like to, as you say, ‘hang out’.” He answered with a smile.

Jaden smiled and got back on the bike in front of him. “Alright, I’ll take you to one of the secret spots I go to get away.”  
She flipped the mask of her helmet down and turned on the bike. Mycroft set his mask back before wrapping his arms around Jaden again. Normally, he would avoid contact with other people if he could, but with Jaden, he...he didn’t mind it. Maybe it was because of her size?  
Yes, there’s less of her than other people, so that must be it!

This time, Jaden pulled out her phone to turn off the music, putting it back in her pocket before heading out.  
Mycroft wasn’t sure how long it took to get to Jaden’s spot, but it was an apartment building in a densely packed neighborhood.

She pulled the bike into the back and locked it down before leading Mycroft up to the roof via Elevator and one flight of stairs. On the roof there was an old coffee table with ash trays, a few sofas covered in vinyl tarp, and an old cigarette pack dispenser. After they removed their helmets, she took the tarp off of one of the sofas and it was actually fairly decent looking. “I’m part of a group of urban explorers and we have a bunch of these hang outs we relax at.” She explained to Mycroft with a smile. She pulled out a few pounds and handed them to him. “Your pick; I don’t really have a preference.” She said as she removed his umbrella from her back to set in the middle of the sofa.

He looked at the options and bought a low tar variety. He joined Jaden on the sofa; she pulled a lighter on a leash from her belt for them to use. Mycroft handed her one of the cigarettes and pulled out one for himself. Jaden lit his up before lighting her own; they each took a drag from their cigarettes almost completely in sync with each other.

Jaden slouched a bit into the cushions and put her feet up on the table, taking another drag of her cigarette. Mycroft wordlessly relaxed on his side of the sofa and his feet joined hers on the table.

They sat in a comfortable silence as the sun went down in the West.

Mycroft’s mobile went off; he was so caught up in the moment he forgot to get back into contact with his people. He quickly answered and assured them he was safe. They explained to him what had happened to the front guards. After giving them a few orders, he hung up and slipped his mobile back into his pocket.  
“My men had been rendered unconscious...” he explained to Jaden before taking a drag from his cigarette.

“Jesus, that sounds like a pain in the ass.”

Mycroft couldn’t help but chuckle at her choice of words; Jaden was so refreshingly blunt; he appreciated it. “Yes, it is. They’re looking through security footage now to find out how and by whom.”

She nodded before taking a final drag of her cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray between them. “Well, I hope you find whoever did it. We should probably get you home.”

He put out his cigarette after she did with a sigh. “I suppose we should.”

They stood up together and put the tarp back over the sofa before heading back downstairs. Jaden put Mycroft’s umbrella back under her jacket to hold it. When they got back to Jaden’s bike they put on their helmets.

“I’ll ride passenger this time; you know your way home.” She said with a smile as she indicated for him to get on first.

“If I didn’t, we’d be in trouble.” He joked without thinking.

Well, that was new; Mycroft hadn’t done anything out of impulse for a long time...where in the world was this coming from?

Jaden nonetheless laughed a little at it. “We sure would be, but you could stay with me and Sherlock, and if he started teasing you I’d pull his underwear over his head.

Mycroft couldn’t help but laugh as the image of Jaden doing such a thing flashed through his mind.

Speaking of laughs;  
Mycroft thought Jaden’s sounded nice.  
Jaden thought Mycroft’s sounded nice.

He got on Jaden’s bike and started it up as she sat behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist.

It didn’t take them too long to get to his home from where they were. Mycroft parked the bike in front before turning it off and both of them dismounted. They took their helmets off together and both were smiling.

“You’re not a bad rider yourself, Mycroft. You should get a bike.” Jaden said.

He chuckled at that. “If I had the time and didn’t need the safety a car provides, I might be inclined to do so.”

He started to hand back the helmet he had worn to Jaden but she gently pushed it back to him. “Keep it; we can ride together whenever you have the time, whenever you want.” She offered with a smile.

“Oh, before I forget, here’s your umbrella back.” Jaden pulled Mycroft’s umbrella from her jacket once again and handed it to him.

She then realized something; “Oh, I left my board in your car!” She whined. 

“I’ll make sure it gets back to you safely, Jaden.”  
Jaden...he liked saying her name; he liked how it rolled off his tongue.

The Jaden in question liked him saying it just as much as he did.

There was a short pause between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Do you...would you like to hang out again sometime?” Jaden asked.

Mycroft smiled again. “I think I would like that very much, Jaden.”

“Awesome!” She grinned.

There was a brief pause again; neither of them really wanted to end this comfortable silence. In the end, it was Mycroft that took the lead in saying goodnight.  
“I suppose you should be off; I imagine you still need to adjust to the time difference.”

“Right, I should before school starts…Goodnight, Mycroft.” Jaden replied before she mounted her bike. She started it up and headed back to Baker Street; he watched her leave with a small smile on his face.

When she got back to the flat, she immediately headed up to her room. The first thing she did was start looking for the camera, finding it on her bookshelf between boxed action figures. Jaden just smiled at it before looking for the external microphone, finding it under her desk. 

“Oh, don’t put it here! It’ll mess up both our audio when I’m on my computer!” She complained, plucking it from its spot before looking around her room for somewhere else to put it. Jaden decided on one of the bedposts at her feet would do. She tried to stick it on but it wasn’t as sticky as before; for a quick fix she grabbed a roll of Super Mario duct tape and wrapped it over itself a little to make a sliver of double sided tape, using it to keep the microphone in place.

“There, that should do it!”

“Hey! Listen!” A voice rang out in her room. Jaden pulled out her phone; it was her text tone.

[unknown] Why did you do that? -MH

Jaden chuckled and responded.

[Jayhawk] because I don’t take trust lightly; I want to earn yours, not to mention I’ve got nothing to hide.

While she waited for Mycroft to respond, she put in his contact information and sat down on her bed.

[Big Brother] We’ll see. -MH

 

[Jayhawk] just promise you won’t sneak a peek when I change clothes in here

[Jayhawk] how about I announce it so none of us get a surprise?

 

[Big Brother] I think you know very well I’d do no such thing. Fine by me. -MH

[Jayhawk] I’ll change in the bathroom whenever I can, but I might forget that there’s a camera in here...maybe I should put up a note for myself, huh?

[Big Brother] that would be wise. -MH

Jaden grabbed her pajamas before heading to the bathroom.

[Jayhawk] Well, I’m gonna be busy for the next week getting my school stuff together, so I won’t have too much time to hang out, if any at all. I imagine you’re busy too, though. Maybe after the first day of school I can take you somewhere really cool, but you gotta promise me you won’t start pulling strings once we start going there; that just takes away like half of the thrill of it.

Jaden got changed into Star Wars lounge pants and a similar but not quite matching shirt and used the bathroom before returning to her room and reading Mycroft’s response as she got into bed.

[Big Brother] I am busy as well, either fortunately or fortunately; that remains to be seen. That sounds like a good idea, but now you have me concerned as to where you will be taking me. -MH

[Jayhawk] Nowhere dangerous...yet. This next spot is more of a test to see just what you’re comfortable with—where you’re comfortable with going, really. 

She laid down and turned off her light after plugging her phone in to charge and snuggling up in bed with it.

[Big Brother] Judging by your history that’s still questionable. -MH

Jaden chuckled at that.

[Jayhawk] I swear on my student visa it’s not dangerous, ok? 

[Big Brother] Alright, I guess I will have to take your word for it, but for now, get some sleep. -MH

[Jayhawk] you too ok? Night Mycroft 

[Big Brother] Goodnight, Jaden.


End file.
